Australians Concerned About Environment: Survey
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 04. 6.06
"It would appear that the federal government is too pre-occupied with international issues [ .... ], and has failed to recognise that as a nation we are more locally focused on our children's future with health, education and the environment the top priorities," so said the researcher regarding the results of a recent poll. No, this isn’t a country of 52 states, though one of similar geographic size, but with six states and two territories. Seems Australians, if this survey of 1,000 is in any way indicative, have finally decided to worry about stuff other than the interest rate of their mortgage. So what else is on their minds? Health and education top the poll. Followed by "Developing new water sources" and "the environment generally". The real surprise is that "alternative energy sources" came in at sixth and global warming took eighth place. Well unleaded petrol just jumped 24 cents to be around 134 cents ($0.95 USD) per litre (0.26 gallon) [which I think is about equal to $3,66 USD per gallon], so that might account for the energy radar coming on. Cyclone Larry recently slammed into the Queensland coast causing widespread damage, and massacring 80% of the home grown banana crop, sending prices more than triple what they were a week before.
Just as Larry had dissipated, another cyclone, Glenda, on the opposite side of the continent made landfall as a category 4 whirl of trouble. Tonight one quarter of the outback city of Katherine is beneath floodwater. This has all come in the space of a couple weeks. Not to mention that Sydney’s water capacity is only at 40%, and hasn’t been above about 55% for over two years. British Prime Minister was here the other week for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. He managed a bit of airtime, talking up a new global warming coalition that he hoped would engage two of the biggest contributors, America and China, with those that bothered to sign onto Kyoto. And let’s not forget we have 40% of the world’s known uranium deposits. Something we seem to be falling over ourselves to sell to the likes of India and China. Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaties be damned. Of course. we don’t want any of the waste back thanks. We can’t even agree where we’re going to dump our spare medical and scientific isotopes. So with all this on the tube and in the papers in the past few weeks, maybe people are beginning to take their eyes off the bank statement, and notice what’s been going on around them. The survey popped up in the ::Melbourne Age, and was spotted by our own MGR.
Must be the season for surveys. Here’s one about Canadians, and what they think if sustainable lifestyles.
Oh, yeh. The images are from Australia's current tourism campaign. Gotta fill those 747s and Airbuses.
Which is the country that has 52 States?
I'm confused what do you mean by "Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaties be damned." you do know that the non proliferation treaty is an agreement to not produce nuclear arms in exchange for help with nuclear power right?
"Something we seem to falling over ourselves to sell to the likes of India and China. Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaties be damned"
So its perfectly alright to sell it to somebody else who goes by NPT?
That's a lot of rage and not much editing.
Editing? No doubt you are correct. Apologies. Another late night entry. Rage? No. Frustration? Yes.
It is an unfortunate aspect of the human condition that we respond better to immediate pain, rather than preventing its obvious arrival. We are such contrary beings. Sydney's dams are very low, but until recently councils frowned on people wanting to install rainwater tanks on their properties. We like to be perceived as a clean green country, yet the Australian stock exchange is booming - through sales of highly polluting coal and uranium. We fight hard on the international stage for an end to whaling, yet refuse to sign on to Kyoto. I do find all this frustrating.
Australia is a signatory to the NPT, indicating it will only sell uranium for peaceful purposes. India has not signed the NPT and is not internationally bound to use said uranium peacefully. Yet still we are in talks with India.
Is it ok to sell uranium to those on the NPT? I would prefer we didn't. We have no control over it, once the sale is made. Just as a shop owner cannot guarantee a knife will only be used to cut vegetables. And we know the waste is a problem, that's why no Australian state wants a nuclear waste facility on their soil. But we are happy to take another country's money, for a product we patently know to be troublesome. That's like a agricultural pesticide supplier only buying organic produce for their own kitchen.
I guess it's analogous to being a teenager. I love my country (as a child might their parents), but that doesn't stop it being an occasional source of cringing embarrassment.
The upside, Warren, is that your country is only about 1/15 the population of the US and about 3/10 of 1% of the total human population, so there's limits to how much damage is done.
Your population is roughly about that of the LA or NY metro areas, and only about 2/3 that of Tokyo or Mexico City.
Its about time they (we)got a bit concerned instead of head in the sand comsumerism. Yes we are a lucky and happy country but all is not good on the inside
Social issues, overregulation by govt. High dependence on dirty fuel as our biggest export earner, over crowding of urban areas due to population movemnt to major cities .I think someting like 95% of us live within 50k of the coast. And now we've been baiting the indonesians about refugees and our citizens in jail on drugs charges. What else Oh and the distruction of our native forests by mates of the govt. Nuclear issues - Old coal mines would be a stable repository for nuclear waste. We have plenty of them too. I could go on !!
Actually Australia has six states and two territories...
Thanks Kat. I'm so sick of having this damn flu. I long for the days when my brain works again. How could I have been so silly? Fixed.
In response to Darry's comment "over crowding of urban areas due to population movement to major cities .I think someting like 95% of us live within 50k of the coast."
Only recently has Australia's Urban centres become denser, and its about time! Australia is one of the worst when it comes to Urban sprawl, I hate traveling for hours and seeing the same environmentally unfriendly and boring brick houses and lawns.